'Basic human rights': Flagstaff protesters say abortion ruling should spur people to vote
FLAGSTAFF — Three days after the Arizona Supreme Court upheld a 160-year-old law that bans abortions and punishes doctors who provide them, a large crowd gathered outside of Flagstaff City Hall on Friday evening to protest the decision.
With an Arizona state flag waving alongside them, the protesters spanned genders and generations. Many displayed signs expressing support for reproductive rights to the bustling rush hour traffic passing by on Route 66 — many of whom honked their horns in support.
Cecelia Overby, a 40-year Flagstaff resident, participated in the protest simply to support "basic human rights for women," she said.
"I'd like to think Supreme Courts would be a little bit more thoughtful," she said of the court's decision this week.
And while the court's ruling was disheartening, Overby said it was "not as surprising as it probably should have been given a lot of what's going on in our world and politics."
But for many activists, the ban just adds to the urgency of getting more voters to the polls this fall.
Woven throughout the crowd were numerous volunteers collecting signatures to codify abortion access in the Arizona Constitution through a referendum that has already collected enough signatures to make the ballot.
Pamela Carter, a volunteer with the Coconino County Democratic Party, has been traveling throughout the county and onto the Navajo Nation in the hopes of encouraging people to make their voices heard at the ballot box.
And while this week's ruling was a major blow for women's reproductive rights, Carter said she is hopeful that the will of the voters will change the tide come November.
"It's Arizona's turn and we're ready," she said. "This is just really going to drive folks to the polls, and it's energizing people."
'Abortions ... are illegal,' court says
The pre-statehood law mandates two to five years in prison for anyone aiding an abortion, except if the procedure is necessary to save the life of the mother. A law from the same era requiring at least a year in prison for a woman seeking an abortion was repealed in 2021.
Enforcement of the ban could mean the end of legal abortions in Arizona, which reproductive rights activists warn means Arizona women can expect potential health complications.
In the wake of the ruling, some providers said they will continue offering abortions up to 15 weeks of pregnancy at least for a time — likely through May — because of an existing court ruling in another case. And, abortion rights advocates see a backstop in the state's top Democrats, who have taken steps to thwart any enforcement of the ban.
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs issued an executive order last year giving all power to enforce abortion laws to the state attorney general instead of county prosecutors. Attorney General Kris Mayes, also a Democrat, has vowed not to prosecute any abortion case, and she reaffirmed that position Tuesday.
“No woman or doctor will be prosecuted under this law as long as I am attorney general," Mayes said. "Not by me, nor by any county attorney serving in our state, not on my watch.”
Republic reporters Stacey Barchenger and Ray Stern contributed to this article.
Reach the reporter at LLatch@gannett.com.
The Republic’s coverage of northern Arizona is funded, in part, with a grant from Report for America. To support regional Arizona news coverage like this, make a tax-deductible donation at supportjournalism.azcentral.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona abortion ban: Dozens protest outside Flagstaff City Hall
